Reviews by SWMeyer4141:

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3.88/5 rDev +1%look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a standard pint glass a deep roasted chesnut brown with nicely formed 1/2 finger tan head atop.Roasted in the nose with some chocolate malt and christmas spice,pretty well rounded.Dryer this year than in the past in my opinion,roasted and somewhat earthy with mild sweetness and mild spiced notes.This beer each year is just tweeked a little,this year being dryer and more roasted in my opinion.Another fine OSA.

Smell: Faintly sweet spices of cinnamon, vanilla and juniper. Nice chocolate and caramel undertones with a mild roastiness. Almost a touch of mead-like qualities.

Taste: Bittersweet roasted malts with light notes of chocolate and caramel. The spices counterbalance the Porter-like base nicely. Slight bitter finish, with pine, juniper and a light roasted bite. A little more tart and stale than I remember from recent years - I like that.

Feel: Moderate carbonation, medium body, somewhat dry finish.

Drinkability: Another winner. Hard to know how much I am making up the differences. They are probably fairly similar each year - Porter base with a slightly different spice profile. This year may be slightly more tart with a touch of juniper. I think '07 (pre-review days) and '09 were my favorites, but this may be a touch better than the '10. But I really may be making this all up.

Anchor's 2011 Christmas Ale opens with a pleasant, herbal-spicy aroma that reminds me instantly of homemade gingerbread cookies and pine needles. The spicy winter aromas are upfront and immediate, with touches of ginger, anise, black pepper, allspice, and clove mingling with good citrus-and-pine-sap notes from the hops. A heavy molasses-based sugar undercurrent brings the beer a great earthiness, with dark fruit esters such as plum, fig, prune, and black cherry rounding out the sugars. Thick marble-rye breads and yeasty wheat breads nicely complement the sugars and spices. As a whole, the nose is enticing and invigorating, making this a shoe-in for a Christmas morning eye-opener.

On the tongue, the first notes are spices, with ginger, anise, clove and black pepper taking the stage first and foremost, joined in shortly after by fruit esters including orange peel, fig, plum, and black cherry. A heavy pine needle-like cloud floats over all of the spices, almost as if the beer had been aged on a bed of spruce tips, lending the beer a pleasant Christmas feel (though I should note that, unlike some of the previous incarnations of this beer, the pine needle notes are complementary here, and not at all overwhelming). Touches of vanilla and molasses add to the gingerbread cookie feel, and the marble-rye and yeasty wheat breads help the beer taste more like a beer and less like, well, a cookie. The aftertaste is a continuation of mainly the spicy and dark fruit ester portions of the main mouthful, heavy on black pepper, pine needle, ginger, and clove, and lingers for a long time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium-high.

Overall, this is one of the better of Anchor's Christmas ales that I've tried. Here the flavors mingle well and play off each other, as opposed to some previous versions where one flavor dominated so intensely that it reminded me of playground bullies. The beer is quite spicy, but the spices blend well, and the cookie-and-bread base is delicious. Highly recommended for fans of winter spiced beers, as well as Anchor's seasonal offerings.

Spicy nose with a little fruit cake.Pours brilliant deep chestnut under a 1" tan head, clingy lace.A very malty, spicy ad dried fruit palate with some astringency and dryness from the spice that lingers through the finish.Medium body to a little above, medium carbonation.

pours out a very dark brownish color with some wonderful deep ruby colors when held up to the light. a big 3 fingers of a biege/ khaki head that slowly receded to some nice looking creamy, patchy retention and some very thick lace left on the glass.

aww.. that classic winter spice and raisony, dark fruity malt ive come to love over the years. anise as well as bits of a sweet toasty malt.

pine and a little spruce, raisony, figgy dark fruits, sweet toasted malt, a rounded flavor of cinnamin, nutmeg, anise, and other such winter spices. finishes with just a slight fruity ester and an even bitterness.

mouthfeel seems a little weak this year, more light bodied than i remember and perhaps even a slightly lighter color. i remember it a bit more black with maybe a little roasted malt in there.

overall, just the staple of the winter warmer style. i look forward to this every winter. this is also a great one to throw in the cellar, i look forward to my vertical, 3 years so far.

Dark brown and ruby with a thick, persistent light brown head that eventually leaves sheets of lace down the glass. Near perfect per the style.

A well balanced aroma consisting of fruitcake and Coca Cola, along with a mild roasted malt character, and a bit of cinnamon. Very nice.

The flavor follows the aroma, with the earthy spices being a bit more dominant than in the aroma. The sweet Coca Cola and fruitcake flavors emerge along with a low level of bitterness. Incredibly drinkable.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

A definitive version of the Winter warmer style. I like to have one every year.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown with some ruby red. Lots of rising bubbles and a big six finger tan head with good retention. Lots of lacing around the glass.

Smell: Very spicy. Dark roasted caramel and toffee malts form a bready base. Big aroma of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and other spices. Also some roasty nuts. Hints of earthy hops in the background. Winter spices stand out the most.

Taste: Starts out with the winter spices including cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Some hints of dark raisins, fig, and prunes follow along with some spicy herbal hops. The dark roasted elements take over midway with a good taste of dark roasted caramel and toffee along with a strong presence of nuts. Tastes both spicy and sweet.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very creamy, nutty, and smooth. Nuts linger in the aftertaste.

Overall: A very good winter warmer. Probably the best spice forward brew I've tasted so far.

A 355ml bottle with a BB of July 2013. Purchased a few weeks ago from my local beer specialist. I had the 2009 brew last year and missed out on the 2010, so time to catch up with the latest one (just as the 12 days of Xmas have ended).

Poured into a Delirium chalice. A dark coppery-red hue with good carbonation. Produces a large head of tan foam with a fine texture and good retention; this lasts for a few minutes before collapsing to a surface layer. Aroma of rich, fruity malt with notes of cinammon, spice, brown sugar, bananas, dried fruit and yeast esters.

Tastes of sweet, dark malt with a subtle spiciness and a fruity finish. Notes of spice, roasted malt, brown sugar, dried fruit, bananas and yeast. A hint of stewed hops in the background, accompanied by a warming alcoholic note. Mouthfeel is smooth and full-bodied, with light carbonation. Slightly astringent. Aftertaste of fruity malt, spice and stewed hops.

Rather nice - a quality seasonal beer. The smell reminds me of Yorkshire parkin. Quite different from the 2009 bottle that I had last year, which was a hoppy, piny affair. Smooth, rich and well-balanced, with a restrained use of spice. Highly drinkable, and well worth your while.